The Silence: Redux
by The Rockerbabe
Summary: [Same Author: New Name] Fear spread through her veins like ice at the sound of silence. She knew that its deadly darkness was her fate. Will love be enough to save Annie Thelen from the deadly silence? AnnieJack & FiClu Pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Some of you might remember this story from way back when in 2001. The Silence was my first ever fan fiction (under my first author name of Diva) and it was a huge hit that almost became an episode of the series. But that never panned out and I moved on and continued writing, advancing as I did so. Now, six years later, after seeing Alexz Johnson in Instant Star made me miss So Weird. I found my old story and re-read it and decided, with my new writing skills that it deserved a make over. So, this is the re-write. As you will see it is vastly different from the first version. I hope you all enjoy it.

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The Silence  
**Chapter One**

Molly Phillips needed a break. Her tour had been going on for a few months and the non-stop traveling was starting to get to her. She had toured for years and was very much use to the lifestyle. But that wasn't what was getting to her. What was getting to her was the fact that her daughter, Fiona wasn't on tour with her. Fiona had made that choice. Molly had accepted it, but didn't like it. Fiona was still growing up and Molly felt like she was missing out. So, she decided to take a long weekend.

On her break, she would be visiting Fiona at her parents' house. Her oldest child; her son, Jack would be accompanying her, along with Annie Thelen, her "surrogate" daughter, who took Fi's place on tour, and Clu Bell, Irene and Ned Bell's youngest son. While Molly, Jack, Annie, and Clu were at her parents', Ned, Irene, and their oldest son, Carey, would go ahead to the next gig and make sure everything was all set.

Fiona was almost beside herself as she waited for her family and friends to arrive. Her grandmother was busying herself in the kitchen baking cookies to pass the time and the smell of chocolate chip cookies was making Fi's stomach growl. With a sigh, Fi booted up her laptop and got online. She was always on the lookout for things new and interesting in the paranormal realm.  
She turned on her radio as she surfed the web and was delighted to her one of Annie's songs playing through the speakers. Fi bobbed her head along with the beat and scanned the web page she had just clicked on. _Hmm, interesting_. The girl scrolled back up and re-read the title of the page: The Silence. Fi smiled. _Annie would love to hear about this_. She thought.

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Annie Thelen smiled as she stared out the window of the car Molly had rented for the trip. She yawned, her lack of sleep catching up to her. The girl rested her head against the window and felt her eyes begin to drift close as her song came onto the radio. As sleep overcame her, dreams filled her head and she found herself in a forest that was shrouded in a heavy fog. A bitter chill crept through her body and she shivered deeply. She wrapped her arms around herself and began to walk through the dark forest. As she walked, she heard the snapping of twigs behind her.

Annie whirled around but saw nothing. When she turned back around, her spirit guide, the panther stood in her path. His eyes were alert as he watched her ever movement. He was poised and ready to attack; its noise was to the wind. Annie felt like there was something else around them, something evil. _Be aware of your surroundings_. A voice warned. Annie whirled around, searching for the source of the voice, but found nothing.

"Where are you?!" Annie cried, "Who are you?!"

_Be careful of the silence_. The voice warned again. The panther's eyes glowed gold and a hand clamped around Annie's shoulder. Annie screamed as pain radiated through her body…

"ANNIE!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Huh?!"

Annie awoke with such a jolt that she put herself in a belt lock. Jack's hands were on her arms and his face was serious.

"What is it, Jack?" Annie demanded, scared of that look on his face.

"You were talking in that weird language---"

"Piraha Tribe?"

"Yeah. Then you were struggling and you screamed."

Annie felt her cheeks get hot. "I'm so sorry. Did I scare you?"

"Yes." Jack said, but smiled, "You're lucky my mom had to stop for a bathroom break. She probably would've driven us off the road."

"Ooh." Annie winced and shivered, "Not good."

Jack unbuckled himself and took off his jacket as Annie unbuckled herself and raked her hand through her hair. Jack put his jacket around Annie's shoulders and brought his hand to her face. His thumb stroked her cheek and he smiled at her. He leaned forward on impulse and placed a light kiss on her lips. The girl smiled as they separated. She and Jack had started dating a few months ago, in secret. They were worried about how Molly would react if she found out, so they agreed not to tell anyone.

Annie inched away from Jack as Molly and Clu approached the car. She stayed close, though, just needing to be near him. Molly noted the young girl's facial expression as she got in.

"Are you alright, Annie?" she asked as she put on her seat belt.

"Yeah." Annie replied with an assuring smile, "Just a bad dream."

Molly smiled sympathetically over her shoulder and started the car as Clu opened his bottle of Dr. Pepper and chugging it down. Annie sighed and having buckled in the middle seat, rested her head onto Jack's shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt Jack's head rest atop hers and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Sometime later, Annie was awoke to the sounds of Molly's voice, cheerfully calling out:

"We're here!"

Molly shut off the engine and got out of the car. She bounced slightly as she headed around the car to the sidewalk that led up to her parents' front door. Before she could even reach the porch, the front door flew open and Fi bolted out the door.

"MOM!" She yelled, running into her mother's arms.

The mother and daughter embraced and squealed as Clu, Jack, and Annie all got out of the car. Annie and Jack shared a look and he loosely entangled his hand with hers. Annie felt her insides turn to jell-o. Jack always had that effect on her. Fi had left her mother's arms and was in Clu's. They were embraced like two lovers that had been separated for years. Jack raised an eyebrow and looked down at Annie, who shrugged. When Fi finally left Clu's arms, she hugged Jack and Annie with a surprisingly strong grip. Jack laughed at his sister and sighed.

"You'd think we hadn't seen each other in years." He observed.

"Oh, shut up, Jack!" Fi retorted, releasing the pair, her eyes sparkling with laughter, "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Trust me, I've missed you too, Fi." Annie said, "It drives me crazy being stuck on a bus with them and Carey. How did you handle it?"

"I started locking my door." Fi replied, looping her arm through Annie's.

"Well, who is that lass?" a female voice asked, her voice still thick with an Irish accent.

Annie looked over and saw Molly with her arm around the waist of a friendly looking red-headed woman.

"Mom, you remember my friend Lisa Thelen?" Molly replied, "This is her daughter, Annie."

"Oh." The woman said with a cheerful smile, "I should have guessed. She looks a lot like her mother."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. McQuinn." Annie said, smiling back.

"Nice to meet you too, dear." She replied, "And please, call me Katherine."

Annie nodded and smiled, feeling at home. Molly smiled as her father, Collin, exited the house. Collin smiled in return and opened his arms to his daughter. Since their last visit, the pair had repaired their relationship and started anew. It was something Molly would always cherish.

"'Lo, Da." She said.

"'Lo, Baby." He replied.

Katherine, Fi, and Jack watched on, smiling. After introductions were all finished, they unloaded the car. Annie noticed, as she wheeled her luggage up the front walk, the sign that was nailed to the front pillar. Fáite was written in a Celtic font.

"It means welcome in Irish." Jack said from behind her, having caught her staring.

"Cool." Annie replied, smiling at Jack, and stepping up onto the porch and heading into the house.

Annie followed Fi, who was leading them upstairs. Annie would be bunking with Fi in her room, while Clu would be bunking with Jack, whose room was just down the hall. The blonde put her suitcase in the corner by the closet and put her orange and white Mac laptop on the bed by Fi's.

"Hey, Annie." Fi said suddenly, her eyes lit with excitement, "I found the coolest thing online right before you came."

"Really?" Annie said, always curious about new paranormal things, "What is it?"

"It's this thing called 'The Silence'."

Annie swallowed hard. "Th---The Silence?" she repeated.

"Yeah." Fi looked at the other girl, concerned at the stunned expression on her face, "Have you heard about it before?"

"Uh—No." Annie said, trying to recover, "Never."

Fi looked at her suspiciously, but as she was about to call her on it, Jack and Clu burst into the room, singing something along the lines of an Irish drinking song. Fi rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing her brother and Clu out the door and slamming it behind them.

"Do you understand the importance of the door locking?" Fiona asked, leaning against the door to prevent them from bursting in again.

"Uh, yeah." Annie replied, laughing, "Completely."


	2. Author's Note

I can't believe I forgot the most important part! Oops!

Disclaimer: So Weird does not belong to me. It belongs to the wonderful folks at Disney.

PS: To find the original, go to my profile and click on the user name "Diva" in my list of names. You'll find all 8 chapters. If you were wondering why they were all separate, there was once a time that did have a "chapters" option!


	3. Chapter 2

The Silence

Chapter 2

Later that night, after a huge traditional Irish three-course dinner, the teens all crashed with full stomachs. The boys hit the couches while the girls groaned and fussed as they trudged upstairs. Fi sat at the head of her bed and pulled her laptop into her lap as Annie sprawled at the foot of the bed, groaning.

"I think I ate too much." She sighed with a nod.

"We all did but that's the fun part."

"But I feel like I'm going to be sick!"

Fi smiled. "The Dublin Coddle was the best."

"Don't even mention food."

Fiona laughed and moved her cursor on the screen to the internet explorer and found her favorites. She had bookmarked the website on _The Silence _earlier so she could show Annie.

"Hey, Annie."

"Huh?" The blonde sat up as Fi passed her the computer, "What's this?"

"It's a computer, also known as a laptop."

"Ha-Ha." Annie replied sarcastically as she scanned the page.

As soon as her eyes fell on the word _Silence_ and shivered. She started to read and what was written was of no comfort to her.

**The Silence**

**People blessed with the gift of a spirit guide have claimed to have something called _The Silence_ bestowed upon them. The Silence is a test the blessed ones must go through to be able to commune with other realms. _The Silence_ judges the soul of the blessed ones, ensuring that they are pure enough and strong enough to encompass the power of the spirit world. According to a few blessed ones, _The Silence_ can take the form of anything. A trial, a battle, or a quest has been reported so far. But through it all, their spirit guide will see them through and help them defeat the silence.**

**During _The Silence_, the blessed one will be in a sleep-like trance from which they can not awaken or be woken from. If the blessed one is disturbed _The Silence_ can take their soul, leaving them empty and void of life. This test is dangerous, but when finished, can open the doors to powers unknown.**

**The test will occur naturally and can not be stopped. A significant other, if present can lend their strength to the blessed one and smooth the progression of _The Silence._**

Fear spread through her veins like ice at the sound of silence. She knew that its deadly darkness was her fate.


End file.
